Rotary valve

ABSTRACT

A rotary valve preferably for controlling flow of fuel/air mixture to, and exhaust gases from, the cylinder of an internal combustion engine. The valve comprises a casing having a cylinder port and a diametrically opposite exhaust port. A spherical rotor is mounted to rotate within the casing and has a diametrically extending through passage extending at right angles to the axis of rotation of the rotor, which passage aligns with the cylinder and exhaust ports during its rotation. The rotor further includes two channels on either side of the rotor which extend substantially parallel with the through passage. The casing further has an inlet port positioned, using the direction of rotation of the rotor as a datum, before the cylinder port. The lengths of the channels are greater than the distance between the inlet and the cylinder ports so at certain times during rotation of the rotor it will bridge the two ports to allow transfer of a fuel/air mixture from the inlet through the channel to the cylinder port. The outer dimension of the rotor is substantially less than the corresponding internal dimension of the casing, whilst at least one sealing ring is positioned within a groove around the rotor between each channel and the through passage, and is biassed towards a position in running sealing engagement with the internal surface of the casing and is so arranged to prevent undesired transfer of fluid. The planes of the sealing rings are parallel to a plane including the axis of the through passage and the axis of rotation of the rotor. Where an ignition device is used the casing includes a port for it, positioned after the cylinder port and the channels at intervals during rotation of the rotor will allow communication between the device and the cylinder port to allow ignition of the fuel/air mixture passed to the cylinder.

United States Patent 1 Deane Primary Examiner-Wendell E. Burns AttrneyCushman, Darby & Cushman 1 May 1, 1973 ROTARY VALVE [57] ABSTRACT Inventor: William Ronald Deane, Victoria, A rotary valve preferably for controlling flow of Australla fuel/air mixture to, and exhaust gases from, the [73] Assignee: Harold A. Bishop, Peter J. Curran cylinder of an internal combustion engine. The valve and Matthew P. Sinclair, all of Vic- C(PmPHSFS a Casmg. having a Cylinder point and a toria, Australia part interest to diametrically opposite exhaust port. A spherical rotor each is mounted to rotate within the casing and has a 7 n diametrically extending through passage extending at [22] Filed: May 28, 1971 right angles to the axis of rotation of the rotor, which passage ali ns with the cylinder and exhaust orts dur- [2}] Appl' 148l0l ing its rota tion. The rotor further includes t wo channels on either side of the rotor which extend substan- [30] Foreign Application Priority Data tially parallel with the through passage. The casing I further has an inlet port positioned, using the direction May 29,1970 Australia ..l358/70 of rotation of the rotor as a datum before the Cylinder ort. The len ths of the channels are reater than the [52] CI "123/190 123/80 123/190 istance betwien the inlet and the cyli nder ports so at 190 BD certain times during rotation of the rotor it will bridge [51] Int. Cl. ..F01l7/l0, F01] 7/14 the two ports to allow transfer of a fuel/air mixture Fleld of Search D, 190 DA, from the inlet through the channel to the cylinder 123/190 190 190 190 80 port. The outer dimension of the rotor is substantially 80 BA less than the corresponding internal dimension of the casing, whilst at least one sealing ring is positioned [56] References C'ted within a groove around the rotor between each chan- UNITED STATES PATENTS nel and the through passage, and is biassed towards a position in running sealing engagement with the inter- 1,087,499 2/1914 Lane .l ....123/l BD nal surface of the casing and is so arranged to prevent 1,128,757 2/1915 Chandler. ....123/19 D undesired transfer of fluid. The planes of the sealing 1,137,343 6/19l6 Lane 5D rings are parallel to a plane including the axis of the 2,725,043 ll/l955 BaC'Ot ..l23/l90 D through palssa g and h axis of rotation of the roton Where an igni ion device is used the casing includes a FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS port for it, positioned after the cylinder port and the 2,879 0/1914 Great Britain ..123/19 BD Channels at intervals during rotation of the rotor will 67,213 6/1957 France ..|23/80 R allow communication between h d i nd the 454,938 5/1913 France ....123/ BD cylinder port to allow ignition of the'fuel/air mixture 779,407 1/1935 France 123/190 BD passed to the cylinder.

9 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures Patented May 1, 1973 3,730,161

3 Shoots-Shoat 1 Patented May 1, 1973 I 3,730,161

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 1, 1973 3,730,161

3 SheetsSheet 5 ROTARYVALVE This invention relates to a rotary valve of the type comprising a rotor of a substantially spherical form, and particularly relates to a rotary valve for use where timed transfer of fluids to and/or from one point to another is required.

One particular application of the inventive valve may be in co-operation with the cylinder of an internal combustion engine wherein the rotor of the valve is caused to rotate to allow timed intake of a fuel/air mixture to the cylinder, ignition thereof, and exhaust of the combusted gases from the cylinder.

One simpler application of the inventive valve may be in internal combustion engines with cylinders in cascade. With such an arrangement the spent gases from one cylinder in which primary combustion has occurred, are transferred to a further cylinder in which the gases undergo further combustion to utilize all the combustible elements in the mixture. Effectively more complete combustion, and thus more efficient utilization of fuel energy, is achieved, whilst there is a further reduction in the main pollution producing element of internal combustion engine exhaust gases, that is, high proportions of incompletely combusted fuel.

The invention valve is not limited to either of the above applications, as will be realized, and as stated previously can be applied to a variety of applications wherein timed transfer of fluids from one point to another is required. a

The advantages of using rotary valves, particularly with internal combustion engines, are well known. Only one valve is required for each engine cylinder, there is no necessity for cam shafts, push rods, rockers, and poppet valves with valve springs, and thus the power losses associated therewith are eliminated.

The amount of power loss in the drive for rotary valves is therefore considerably less than that for poppet valve systems, whilst operation is considerably quieter due to the absence of tappet noise.

Generally the cylinder head may be formed integrally with the cylinder blockof an internal combustion engine and thus there is no need for a conventional cylinder head and'its associated gasket.

With the valve of the present invention maintenance is much less frequent than that required withconventional poppet valve systems and the known rotary valves to be later described.

The manufacturing costs are considerably reduced, due to the simplicity of construction of rotary valves and their associated equipment, and the rotary valve of the present invention represents an even further reduction in manufacturing costs, due to the unique construction envisaged.

Generally lubrication is accomplished much 'more simply with rotary valves, and it isexpected that lubrication by, a breather technique will be sufficient with the present inventive valve.

Various types of rotary valves have been proposed in the past, but for the most part they have been found to be unreliable, relatively expensive to produce, whilst difficulties have been encountered in providing adequate sealing within the valve itself.

Various forms of rotary valves already contemplated for the timed transfer of fluids from one place to another have rotors in the form of either a cylinder or frustrum of a cone mounted on a drive shaft to rotate in a correspondingly internally shaped valve casing. The casing includes ports in communication with the source of fluid and in communication with the point to where the fluid is to be transferred. The rotor includes a transfer passage therethrough which once or twice in every revolution of the rotor will be aligned with the ports in the casing to allow transfer of fluid in either direction therethrough. With these types of valve, sealing rings must be provided on the rotor itself, and of necessity must be provided around, and in, the surface of the cylinder in the direction of curvature thereof. These seals prevent leakage of fluid through to the bearings at the ends of the rotor but do not prevent unwanted leakage around the circumference of the cylinder.

With these types of rotary valve the rotor and the casing must therefore be machined accurately to allow as little leakage space as possible between the rotor and the casing. With such a construction when hot fluids are being transferred, sufficient clearance space to allow for expansion is required, and thus there is always the likelihood of over-expansion and seizing of the rotor within the casing together with rapid wearing of the rotor surface. Also with such constructions inadequate provision is allowed with the seals for their own expansion, and that of the rotor about which they are provided. a

The only way to enable proper sealing with this type of construction would be to utilize seals in the inner surface of the casing around the ports rather than on the rotor. However, such seals rapidly deteriorate due to their continual contacting with the edges of the inlets to the passage in the rotor.

In order that seals can be provided to prevent unwanted leakage between any two points in a rotary valve, a valve having a rotor of a substantially spherical form has been found to be desirable.

One form of rotary valve utilizing a spherical rotor has been proposed, which valve has a casing the internal surface of which is shaped to substantially correspond to the shape of the rotor. The casing is provided with an inlet port, and an exhaust port in a position diametrically opposite to the inlet port. A cylinder port is provided and so situated as tohave its central. axis extending at right'angles to the central axes ofthe inlet and exhaust ports. Provision is also made in the casing for mounting the support shaft of the rotor and the associated bearing. l

The rotor is provided with an inner cavity from which two passages to the outside of the rotor are provided. One passage allows communication between the cylinder port and the inside'of the rotor whilstthe drive shaft for the rotor is mounted diametrically opposite this passage and rotates the rotor about an axis coinciding with the axes of the passage and the cylinder port. Thus the passage in the rotor and the cylinder port are always in alignment during rotation of the rotor. The other passage in therotor extends at right angles to the first mentioned passage and alternately allows communication of the inlet and exhaust ports with the inside of the rotor.

The operation of the valve in an internal combustion engine is that the rotor must, in four stroke internal combustion engines, rotate at one half crankshaft speed. With this particular valve, due to the use of the spherical rotor, seals can be provided in the surface about the openings to both passages in the rotor and thus leakage around the surface of the rotor is substantially avoided.

However, packing rings have been used as sealing means which are held in grooves in the surface of the rotor and they should be in sliding engagement with the inner surface of the casing at all times.

Once again it is essential with this known rotary valve, for the rotor to have dimensions matching as close as possible the dimensions of the internal surface of the casing such that firm engagement between the seals and the casing can be maintained. This has required particularly accurate machining operations, which due to the use of the spherical rotor are rendered even more difficult, in that precise concentricity must be maintained. With such an arrangement the expansion of the rotor and/or casing cannot be compensated for and once again there is liklihood of seizure of the rotor in the casing with expansion of the rotor, whilst the seals are pushed hard against and compressed between the rotor and the casing wall causing rapid wear and deterioration thereof and thus frequent maintenance is required.

In order to compensate for expansion of the rotor, the rotor needs to be machined slightly undersized and seals provided which will compensate for expansion of the rotor. However, during the cold starting of an engine including such a valve, valve operation is ineffi cient as the expansion compensating measures taken, allow leakage of fluid around the rotor surface and also continual leakage can occur in cold environments when the engine and'valve operate at temperatures lower than design temperatures.

Due to these disadvantages associated with the known, spherical rotor type, of rotary valve they have not been widely accepted.

It is an object of one aspect of the present invention to provide a rotary valve with a spherical rotor which overcomes the disadvantages associated with known valves. 7 v I It is a further object of one preferred from of the invention to provide a rotary valve with a spherical rotor, which does not need the same precise manufacturing techniques as those associated with known valves, and in which the sealing rings automatically compensate for expansion and contraction of the valve rotor during use. p

The valve therefore envisaged has a rotor whose dimensions are substantially less than the preferred internal dimensions of the casing of the valve at all operating temperatures.

Also as the rotor surface never comes into contact with the inner surface of the casings no special surface finish has to be provided for the rotor. The material chosen for the rotor is not dependent on its expansion coefficient, and thus cheap materials can be utilized. Sufficient space is also provided between the inside diameter of the sealing rings and the bottom of their associated grooves to allow for expansion of the rotor whilst at the same time preventing undue pressure of the sealing rings against the internal surface of the casmg.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rotary valve with a spherical rotor which when used with an engine can rotate at a speed much less than that normally required for a rotary valve in the particular engine chosen.

The invention therefore envisages a rotary valve including a casing with a cylinder port and a diametrically opposite exhaust port, a spherical rotor mounted to rotate within said casing and having a diametrically extending through passage extending at right angles to the axis of rotation of the rotor such as to align during rotation of the rotor, with said cylinder and exhaust ports, and further provided with two channels one on either side of said rotor and extending substantially parallel with said through passage, the said casing having an inlet port positioned, using the direction of rotation of the rotor as a datum, before said cylinder port, wherein the length of the said channels in said rotor is greater than the distance between the inlet port and the cylinder port, and at least one sealing ring positioned around the rotor between each channel and the through passage, with the plane of said sealing rings being substantially parallel to a plane including the axis of the through passage and the axis of rotation of the rotor.

The invention may further include where an ignition device is required, a port for the receipt of an ignition device situated after said cylinder port.

Naturally in compression ignition engines an ignition device is not required, and thus a port for receipt of such a device is not required.

The inventive valve is not limited to use in internal combustion engines, as those skilled in the art could readily apply the valve to prime movers with external combustion, such as steam engines, hot air engines, etc., the following will be directed specifically to use with internal combustion engines, and is more specifically directed to use with four stroke internal combustion engines.

One preferred form of rotary valve, and a particular application thereof will now' be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a four-cylinder internal combustion engine including four of the inventive valves; I

FIG. 2 is a perspective of a rotor for one form of valve and half of the casing for the rotor;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section along line 3-3 of the engine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section along the line 4-4 of FIG.

FIGS. 5 to 10 are general views through a cross-section of one form of the inventive valve showing the relative positions of the rotor to the casing during a four-stroke engine cycle;

FIG. 11 shows a section of portion of the rotor and adjacent casing showing the position of .the sealing rings relative to the grooves receiving them in the rotor and their co-operation with the interior wall of the adjacent casing; whilst FIG. 12 shows a portion of said rotor showing the peg means preventing a sealing ring from rotating relative to the rotor.

Referring to FIG. 2, a spherical rotor l is provided with a through passage 2 from one side to a diametrically opposed side. The passage 2 has such a cross-sec tion as to provide a sufficient volume of combusted gases to pass through during the exhaust operation. The passage 2 is for the transfer of exhaust gases from an engine cylinder with which the .valve is in co-operation to the associated exhaust system.

Two support shafts 3 and 4 are also provided for the rotor 1 extending from diametrically opposite sides of the sphere. The rotor 1 rotates about the shafts 3 and 4, and the shafts 3 and 4 are so placed as to provide an axis of rotation at right angles to the extension of the passage 2 through the rotor l. The shafts 3 and 4 of the rotor are machined and are mounted in hearings in the casing 5 for the valve. The bearings may be of the metal on metal variety although other types of bearings, such as ball bearings, may be utilized.

The shafts 3 and 4 may be cast integrally with the sphere of the rotor, or may be formed integrally with the sphere when the rotor is machined from mild steel.

Alternatively the sphere and shafts may be formed separately, and attached to each other to form the complete rotor. The use of two support shafts also represents an advantage over known rotary valves, where only one support shaft is provided, due to the better support offered.

The spherical rotor 1 is also provided with channels 6 and 7 machined, or formed during casting, into diametrically opposed sides of the rotor, which channels extend in a direction parallel to the passage 2 through the rotor.

The depth of the channels 6 and 7 will determine their length, and thus the depth would be chosen depending on the length of channel required, which is dependent on the size .of the rotor and the distance between the ports in the casing 5 of the valve to be later described.

It will be appreciated that when channels with straight bottoms are machined into spherical surface the depth will be a maximum at its mid point and decrease to zero at its ends, and thus care must be taken that the length of the channels exceeds the related distance between ports in the-casing such that an adequate sized passage through the channels for fluids is provided. These channelsenable transfer of fuel/air mixture throughto the engine cylinder at appropriate times. A casing 5 for the valve is provided and may be made from any suitable metal. Preferably the metal chosen is the same as that used for the rotor such that substantially equal expansion of both casing and rotor will occur during operation of the valve. This of course is not essential as the sealing rings 8 to be later described compensate adequately for any differences in expansion of rotor and easing.

' The casing 5 is made in halves (only one of which is shown in FIG. 2) to allow disassembly of the valve, and the two halves when combined will enclose the rotor 1. The halves of the casing will be provided with suitable openings 9 for the receipt of the support shafts 3 and 4 ofthe rotor 1 and the bearings therefore.

Preferably the casing 5 is split along a plane at right angles to the axis of rotation of the rotor thus preventing the sealings rings 8, to be later described, from fouling at the join of the halves when there is some misalignment of the halves of the casing. The two halves of the casing are formed internally with hemispherical surfaces 10, which when both halves are combined will form a spherical chamber for receipt of the spherical rotor 1. However, the diameter of the spherical rotor 1 is made substantially less than the internal diameter of the casing 5, and adequate compensation for expansion of the rotor l is therefore allowed. Clearlyno special machining has to be carried out on the spherical surface 11 of the rotor as this spherical surface is not in engagement with the internal surface 10 ofthe casing.

Sealing between the rotor l and the casing 5 is accomplished by metal sealing rings 8. The rotor is provided with grooves 12 for receipt of the rings 8, and these, and thus the rings, extend around the spherical rotor l in planes parallel to each other and also parallel to the axes of the through passage 2 and the channels 6 and 7. At leastone ring is provided on each side of the rotor between the channel and the through passage although in this preferred embodiment two are provided. With more than one ring 8 provided on each side the sealing efficiency is increased.

The sealing rings 8 are compressably biased to an outward position against the internal surface 10 of the casing 5. The internal surface 10* of the casing should be machined and finished as accurate as possible to provide proper sealing of the sealing rings 8, unlike the spherical rotor, 1 which need not have any surface finish at all and no special steps have to be taken to preserve concentricity of the rotor. f

The sealing rings 8 are pegged at 13 to prevent rotation in the grooves relative to the rotor (see FIG. 12). The internal diameter of each sealing ring 8 is greater than the root diameter of their associated grooves 12 to allow for expansion. The casing 5 is provided with four ports, the central axes of which all. lie in the same plane as the axis of the passage 2 and the axis of rotation of the rotor 1. One port 14 is formed to communicate with an engine cylinder and thus the halves of the casin are provided withchannels 15 of semi-circular cross-section, which when the two halves are united provide a port 14 of circular cross-section extending downward to communicate with an aligned port in the cylinder head.

Diametrically opposite to this cylinder port, an exhaust port 16 is provided which is in communication with the exhaust system of the engine. This exhaust port 16 would be provided by channels 17 in the two halves of the casing 5 in the same way as the engine cylinder port 14. i v

Taking the direction A of the rotor l as shown in FIG. 2 as a datum, an inlet port 18 for fuel/air mixture is provided in one side of the casing before the cylinder port 14, whilst after the cylinder port 14 in the other side of the casing a port 19 for'the receipt of an ignition device, such as a spark plug, is provided. The points of the plug would be disposed beneath the internal surface 10 of the casing such as to prevent fouling with the sealing rings 8 of the rotor l as it rotates.

The outside of the casing adjacent the ports will be provided with means whereby an inlet manifold may be connected to the valve at the inlet port 18 and whereby the exhaust manifold may be connected adjacent the exhaust port 16.

The port 19 for the spark plug would be threaded at 20a to receive the threaded portion of a conventional ar pl With a rotary valve so constructed and in co-operation with a four stroke internal combustion engine, prior to the piston moving downwardly in the cylinder from top dead center to draw in a charge of fuel/air mixture (see FIG. the end of the channels 6 moves into alignment with the cylinder port 14, whilst the inlet port 18 is also in communication with the channel 6, thus allowing transfer of fuel/air mixture into the cylinder above the piston.

Prior to the piston reaching bottom dead center (see FIG. 6'), channel 6 moves out of alignment with the inlet port 18 and transfer of fuel/air mixture is prevented. The channel 6 remains in communication with the cylinder port 14, during the up-stroke of the piston whilst the fuel/air mixture is being compressed. Prior to the piston reaching top dead center (see FIG. 7) the channel 6 moves into alignment with the ignition device 20 which fires to combust the fuel/air mixture whilst almost simultaneously the trailing end of the channel 6 moves out of alignment with the cylinder port 14, and therefore as the piston is forced down during the combustion stroke the ignition device 20 is no longer in contact with the burning gases, and thus one of the major causes of reduced ignition device life (spark plug life), is substantially eliminated.

Prior to the piston reaching bottom dead center (see FIG. 3) during the combustion stroke the through passage 2 starts to come into alignment with the cylinder port 14 and moves into direct alignment (see FIG. 9) and out of alignment with the cylinder port 14 during the ensuing upstroke of the piston, whereby the exhaust gases are. pushed out through the passage 2 and through the exhaust port 16 which is in corresponding alignment with the other end of the passage 2.

Prior to top dead center (see FIG. 10) the through passage 2 moves out of alignment with the cylinder port 14 and the end of the other channel 7 moves into alignment for transfer of the next charge of fuel/air mixture into the cylinder and so the cycle is repeated.

The sealing rings 8 are situated around the rotor between the channels 6 and 7 and the through passage 2 and thusunwanted leakage at any position of the rotor 1 is avoided.

If required valve overlap may be easily accomplished with the rotary valve according to this invention by providing a rotor in which the distance-between the end of the channels 6 and 7 and the adjacent edge of the ends of the through passage "2 in the rotor is less than the transverse dimension of the cylinder port 14 and/or the exhaust port 16 in the casing. With such a construction the through passage 2 will still be slightly in communication with the cylinder port 14 and the exhaust port 16 as an end of an adjacent channel 6 or 7 also comes into communication. This valve overlap is particularly desirable in high performance engines such as those used for racing purposes. The applicants have found that the poor idling characteristics associated with valve overlapping in poppet valve systems is not apparent when valve overlap is utilized with the rotary valve of the present invention.

' It should be noted that as the valve allows two intakes and two exhausts for every one revolution of the rotor the rotor need only rotate at one quarter crankshaft speed. It should also be noted that with the axes of the ports 14, 16 and 18 in the casing and the channels 6 and 7 and the through passage 2 in the rotor all lying in the same plane, the channels and passage in the rotor when the rotor is rotating will come into and out of alignment with ports in the surrounding casing. The channels 6 and 7 should be of sufficient length to overlap both the inlet port 18 and the cylinder port 14 as well as the cylinder port 14 and the spark plug port 19 for periods of time sufficient to allow firstly transfer of fuel/air mixture and secondly the spread of combustion from the spark plug into the cylinder chamber.

The through passage 2 in the rotor would be of sufficient lateral dimension to allow time between when it first starts to align with the cylinder port 14 until it moves out of alignment with the cylinder port 14 for transfer of the combusted gases through the valve to the exhaust port 16.

Valve overlap, as previously stated, may be accomplished by producing a rotor wherein the distance between the end of a channel and the adjacent end of the through passage is less than the distance between the cylinder port and the inlet port and/or the spark plug port.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 of the drawings, with conventional internal combustion engines, in this case with four cylinders, the cylinder block 21 is attached by bolts 22 to the cylinder head with a gasket 36 dispensed therebetween. Alternatively they may be cast integrally. The top of the cylinder head 23 is provided with a channel 24 for the receipt of the two united halves of a series of valve casings 5. Each half of the valve casings 5 includes a hemispherical rotor receiving cup 10 and a through passage 9 centrally placed and extending at right angles to joint surface of each half for the receipt of the support shafts 3 and 4 of the rotor l.

The support shafts 3 and 4 for the rotors of adjacent valves may be connected end to end in driving engagement by means, such as a simple dog clutch 25, with an extreme end 26 of the row of rotors being connected to a conventional timing drive from the crankshaft (not shown). 1

The multi valve assembly maybe assembled by fixing a half of the valve casing of an end valve in position on the cylinder head 23 inserting the rotor 1 for the valve in position in the half casing, pushing the second half into position on to the support shaft 4 on the opposite side of the rotor and up against the first half of the easing and attach it thereto by bolts 41 to form a full casing 5 and enclose the rotor l. The next valve may be placed in position by sliding its first half thereof with its rotor 1 against the first valve, which positioning would at the same time cause the ends of adjacent support shafts 3 and 4 to come into drivingengagement after which the other half of the casing would be positioned to complete the enclosure of the rotor. Spacers 37 with mine roller bearings 38 are sandwiched between each valve. In this way each valve casing 5 with its rotor l enclosed therein and in driving engagement with the rotor 1 of an adjacent valve would be assembled along the top of the cylinder head 23, until the final half of the last valve is positioned and fixed in position relative to the cylinder head 23. By fixing the end halves of enc valves of the assembly relative to the cylinder head 23 all valves may be kept in the assembled condition.

The row of valves may be clamped down into position against the cylinder head 23 with the engine cylinder ports 14 in their casings in alignment with the ports 26 in the cylinder head by means of a clamping plate 27 extending flat along the tops of the valves and overlapping on each side of the row of valves. A gasket 39 is positioned between the clamping plate 27 and the cylinder head 23. The channel 24 in the top of the cylinder head 23 for receiving, and positioning, the valves may be provided by two flanges 29 and30 extending along the cylinder head 23, with the valves being closely received between them. The clamping plate 27 may then be attached by bolts 28 extending down into the top edges of the flanges 29 and 30. The flange 29 along one side of the valves adjacent the inlet ports 18 thereof is provided with through passages 31 aligned with the inlet ports 18 in the valve casings 31, whilst an inlet manifold 32 is attached by bolts 33 to and extends along the outward facing side of the flange 29. A gasket 40 is positioned between the inlet manifold 32 and the flange 29.

The flange 30 on the other side adjacent the spark plug ports 19 would be provided with passages 34 to enable access to the sparkplug ports .19 in the valve casings to enable the insertion and removal of spark plugs q The clamping plate 27 may be formed integrally with the exhaust manifold 35 asshown and provided with passages 36 therethrough aligned with the exhaust ports 16 of the valve casings S.

The angular orientation of the rotors would have been preselected for the particular firing sequence desired for the particular engine.

Gaskets and sealing rings should be appropriately placed to prevent unwanted transfer of gases between individual valves, and to externally of the engine.

In a simple application wherein the rotary valve is used to allow time transfer fluid from one point to another, such as in an internal combustion engine with cylinders in cascade where the valve would allow the timed transfer of combusted gases from one cylinder to the next, a through passage is provided in the rotor to pass diametrically therethrough which passage extends at right angles to the axisof rotation of the rotor. The casing is provided with two ports one through which combusted gases are passed into the valve from a first cylinder, and the other through which the said gases pass out from the valve and into the next cylinder.

The rotor is caused to rotate at a preselected speed whereby the through passage will align with both ports and allow transfer of gases at timed intervals. It will be realized that the transfer will occur twice in every one revolution of the rotor. The drive means between the crankshaft and the rotor could be selected according to the desired reduction required for particular types of internal combustion engines.

An extension of this simple application of the inventive valve, involves use of a through passage in the rotor which is not at right angles to the axis of rotation of the rotor, and such a passage would at one point in rotation allow communication between one pair of opposed ports in the casing, and 180 of rotation later would align a further pair of diametrically opposed ports.

The invention is not limited to manufacture from any particular type of material, but a casing from cast iron,

with a rotor also from cast iron with steel support shafts would be suitable. The rotor may also be constructed from mild steel, alloy steel or aluminum. The sealing rings may be made from conventional piston ring type materials.

Frequency of maintenance is reduced as the sealing means according to one aspect of the invention are capable of longer life. 7

The inlet port may be larger and unrestricted ensuring greater induction than previous valve designs and incoming gases flow to the center of the cylinder. More uniform mixing of petrol and air is achieved and total burning takes place. No after burning occurs in the exhaust pipe. i

The large exhaust port is opened later than previously and a longer and smoother power stroke is obtained. Operating under extreme temperatures can not affect the valves efficiency in any way as distortion of the rotor has no effect at all on the performance. The rotor body plays no part in actually sealing compression pressures. The absence of hot spots in the cylinder head permits the use of low octane fuels without pre-ignition or knocking even on ratios of 9:1 or higher.

Better combustion of fuel is also anticipated and thus the main ingredient of pollution produced by exhaust from an internal combustion engine is reduced considerably.

lclaim:

1. A rotary valve including a casing with a cylinder port and a diametrically opposite exhaust port, a spherical rotor mounted to rotate within said casing and having a diametrically extending through passage extending at right angles to the axis of rotation of the rotor such as to align during rotation of the rotor, with said cylinder and exhaust ports, and further provided with two channels one on either side of said rotor and extending substantially parallel with said through passage, the said casing having an inlet port positioned, using the direction of rotation of the rotor as a datum, before said cylinder port, wherein the length of the said channels in said'rotor is greater than the distance between the inlet port and the cylinder port, and at least one sealing ring positioned around the rotor' between each channel and the through passage, with the plane of said sealing rings being substantially parallel to a plane including the axis of the through passage and the axis of rotation of the rotor.

2. A rotary valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer dimension of the rotor is substantially less than the corresponding internal dimension of the casing, and said sealing rings are resilient sealing rings held within grooves in the surface of the rotor and biassed towards a position in running sealing engagement with the internal surface of the said cavity of said casing.

3. A rotary valve as claimed in claim 2, wherein the internal diameter of the or each sealing ring is greater than the root diameter of the groove in which it is held.

4. A rotary valve as claimed in claim 1 wherein said casing includes two substantially identical parts, which when combined produce a complete casing, each said part including an inner substantially half-spherical cavity with corresponding half-cylindrical recesses in the mating surfaces of the parts which on combination of the parts form said ports.

5. A rotary valve as claimed in claim 4 having a further port for receipt of an ignition device situated after said cylinder port, and wherein the distance between the cylinder port and the port for the ignition device is less than the length of said channels.

6. A rotary valve as claimed in claim 5 in combination with the cylinder of an internal combustion engine,

a fuel/air mixture inlet system and an exhaust system,

wherein said one of said diametrically opposed ports in there is one rotary valve for each cylinder of said engine.

8. The combination ofclaim 7, including a cylinder head mounted on the cylinder block, with a channel formed in said cylinder head for receiving said rotary valves.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said channel is formed by two side flanges each including passages therethrough which allow communication between an inlet manifold and said first further ports and further including a clamping plate attached to said flanges with a passage therethrough allowing communication between an exhaust manifold attached to said clamping plate, and the other of said diametrically opposed ports. 

1. A rotary valve including a casing with a cylinder port and a diametrically opposite exhaust port, a spherical rotor mounted to rotate within said casing and having a diametrically extending through passage extending at right angles to the axis of rotation of the rotor such as to align during rotation of the rotor, with said cylinder and exhaust ports, and further provided with two channels one on either side of said rotor and extending substantially parallel with said through passage, the said casing having an inlet port positioned, using the direction of rotation of the rotor as a datum, before said cylinder port, wherein the length of the said channels in said rotor is greater than the distance between the inlet port and the cylinder port, and at least one sealing ring positioned around the rotor between each channel and the through passage, with the plane of said sealing rings being substantially parallel to a plane including the axis of the through passage and the axis of rotation of the rotor.
 2. A rotary valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer dimension of the rotor is substantially less than the corresponding internal dimension of the casing, and said sealing rings are resilient sealing rings held within grooves in the surface of the rotor and biassed towards a position in running sealing engagement with the internal surface of the said cavity of said casing.
 3. A rotary valve as claimed in claim 2, wherein the internal diameter of the or each sealing ring is greater than the root diameter of the groove in which it is held.
 4. A rotary valve as claimed in claim 1 wherein said casing includes two substantially identical parts, which when combined produce a complete casing, each said part including an inner substantially half-spherical cavity with corresponding half-cylindrical recesses in the mating surfaces of the parts which on combination of the parts form said ports.
 5. A rotary valve as claimed in claim 4 having a further port for receipt of an ignition device situated after said cylinder port, and wherein the distance between the cylinder port and the port for the ignition device is less than the length of said channels.
 6. A rotary valve as claimed in claim 5 in combination with the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, a fuel/air mixture inlet system and an exhaust system, wherein said one of said diametrically opposed pOrts in said housing is in communication with an inlet to said cylinder, the other of said diametrically opposed ports is in communication with said exhaust system and said first further port is in communication with said fuel/air mixture inlet system.
 7. The combination of claim 6, in combination with a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine, wherein there is one rotary valve for each cylinder of said engine.
 8. The combination of claim 7, including a cylinder head mounted on the cylinder block, with a channel formed in said cylinder head for receiving said rotary valves.
 9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said channel is formed by two side flanges each including passages therethrough which allow communication between an inlet manifold and said first further ports and further including a clamping plate attached to said flanges with a passage therethrough allowing communication between an exhaust manifold attached to said clamping plate, and the other of said diametrically opposed ports. 